Gundam SEED: The Dragon's Claws
by Xx-Erin-xX-AthrunxCagallifan
Summary: Arli Elthsman: Ex-assassin. ZAFT Elite. Deadly enemy. Arli is ZAFT's most trusted soldier but the feeling isn't reciprocal. Arli seeks for a way out to right the wrongs she's made. At Heliopolis she is faced with the chance to do that and change the war.
1. Prologue

**Prologue - Zaft's Greatest Weapon**

**Hi there my faithful readers. I'm so sorry to do this to you when I was so close to finishing the story originally but I reread it and decided that I could have done so much of a better job on this so I'm rewriting it in a way that I think is so much better. I hope you like it, I know I do ^.^ Enjoy!**

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In year 54 of the Cosmic Era, the ZAFT Supreme Council decided to take a path on which there was no coming back. It was a path that would change the course of the world forever. This course is something they though would aid them.

The Council was suspicious of the Earth Alliance and they had a right to be. The Earth Forces' assassins were trying to infiltrate the PLANTs and ZAFT Forces. They were gaining Intel without the ZAFT Forces' knowledge. This was causing tensions to rise.

A few of the ZAFT Forces' highest ranking military officials, most trusted by the Council decided that they needed to do something. They needed a weapon.

One man, Rau Le Creuset had a spark of genius: instead of a literal weapon to help them defeat the Earth Forces' assassins but what about a metaphoric weapon. To be precise they would create a coordinator to be their prize assassin. The coordinator would be faster, stronger and smarter than every other coordinator. They would have perfect shooting abilities, they would be a martial arts master, they would be able to read peoples' minds, and they would have flawless lying skills as well as having their problem solving abilities higher than anybody else's allowing them to escape from difficult situations. They would be a ruthless killing machine who would never be caught.

The council accepted this endeavour and the military designed the assassin's abilities. They chose a couple to be the child's parents. It was year 55 of the Cosmic Era by the time that the assassin was finally conceived. She was born in the October of that year and her parents christened her Arliania. She was a beautiful child. Nobody could possibly see her as being able to kill somebody but this child was going to grow up to become history's most feared assassin.

Arliania grew up. When she was five she began her training and she went on her first mission when she was ten and by the time she was thirteen the Dragon of Space was a name that made every higher-up in the Earth Alliance shiver slightly with fear.

At fourteen Arli joined the Le Creuset Team as the only female red jacket pilot. She used the team as a cover for her missions. But a year later tragedy struck and the world would never be the same…

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CE 70, February 24 - PLANT Supreme Council, Aprilius-One_

Arli clasped her hands in her lap and tried to ignore the many voices of the Supreme Council all trying in vain to be heard over each other. They all had something to say and they wanted to say it at that exact moment.

Arli clenched her eyes shut behind the amber glass that covered her eyes on her mask.

_Why won't they be quiet?_ She tossed her head, her blonde pony tail swishing behind her as she tried desperately to block out the voices of the twelve council members. She was entirely clad in black.

Arli dressed mainly in her mission suit rather than her official uniform which was a black and gold version of the Elite Pilot's uniform. Her mission suit was tight. She wore gloves and tight boots that were stretchy enough for her to strap a gun to her right calf and a knife to her left. She also carried several guns on her waist, a silencer with them and several knives. She sometimes carried a rifle on her back but only when it wouldn't inconvenience her.

A mask covered the young assassin's eyes. It was black and tied around her head with ribbons that were pinned to her hair and fell down through her pony tail. The edges of the mask were spiked to resemble a dragon's wings and were patterned with a red and gold curl that travelled up each edge and met in the middle of the top where the mask spiked up. The eyes were made out of an amber tinted glass to protect Arli's identity further. She was number one on Blue Cosmos leader Muruta Azrael's hit list. And he was number one on hers.

Right at this moment Arli was about to lose it.

Ten days ago the Earth Forces had released a nuclear missile at Junius-Seven. Over two hundred thousand coordinators had died among them was Arli's mother who had been visiting her friend Lenore Zala at the time. Arli still couldn't believe it had actually happened and just eight days afterwards, PLANT declared war on the Earth Alliance and ZAFT launched Neutron-Jammers into the Earth's surface to prevent any nuclear-fission reactions from taking place, stopping the disaster of a nuclear war from happening.

But before that, only the day after the Bloody Valentine incident, the Council had sent Arli on another mission and she'd returned and the next day war was declared and the attack took place.

Everybody, even Arli herself, assumed that this war was going to be short and sweet and that the Earth Forces would come out the victors but right now Arli had a more pressing matter: she wanted to quit her assassin job.

The babble of voices was increasing in volume and Arli just couldn't take it anymore.

"Would you all just shut up?" she screamed and stood up. Beside her Commander Rau Le Creuset looked up in interest. He had been becoming increasingly bored with the proceedings and the Dragon of Space always seemed to lighten things up.

Every member of the PLANT Supreme Council turned and looked at Arli. Her father's eyes were saddened. Beside him Patrick Zala looked up angrily at Arli. Siegel Clyne however motioned to the Council members. He had been the only one not shouting. Siegel had just become Chairman of the Supreme Council and Arli's best friend was his daughter, Lacus Clyne so she knew him well and trusted him.

"What is it Lady Dragoness?" Siegel asked.

"Why are you all shouting like this?" Arli demanded. "This isn't going to get you anywhere. I've just returned from Washington D.C, the capital of the Earth Alliance and let me tell you, they are no better organised than we are and they're the ones who started this damn thing!" _After I provoked them…_

"Lady Dragoness is right, please, everybody sit and wait for her to speak," Siegel said, gesturing to the members of the Council. Every member seemed to realise themselves and they sat. It was then that Arli noticed how dishevelled they all looked and she didn't blame them. This time was hectic.

"The Alliance is preparing for whatever ZAFT throws at them and they seem worried about another large killing by the Dragon of Space but they will be pleasantly surprised when that doesn't happen because I've decided that I'm quitting," Arli explained.

Silence.

"Excuse me?" Patrick Zala demanded.

"I'm quitting!" Arli snapped. "I can't stand this anymore! The Dragon of Space can only fan the flames of this war but Arli Elthsman, Elite Red Jacket of the Le Creuset Team can fight in a war. I want to help bring a swift end to this war but I can't do that as an assassin. I can do it as a mobile suit pilot."

There was more silence and then murmurs of discussion broke out and Arli frowned as her father look at Siegel pleadingly. Siegel seemed to be doing some serious thinking.

Then Commander Le Creuset cleared his throat and stood.

"If I may speak, Chairman Clyne?" he requested.

"Go ahead Commander," Siegel replied.

"I agree with Lady Dragoness," Commander Le Creuset explained. "We've had a large increase in the number of volunteers to join the military but I can almost guarantee that there will not be very many who can measure up to Arli's capabilities in a mobile suit or as a soldier."

Arli looked at the blond commander and frowned. She wasn't sure what it was but she just didn't trust the Commander. Perhaps it was because she couldn't see his eyes so she didn't know what he was thinking. Whatever it was though, he made her uncomfortable sometimes and she suddenly wondered if her decision to join the military full-time was a good idea after all. She _would_ be stuck with him all of the time.

It was a sacrifice she was willing to make though. After the Bloody Valentine there was no way that she could be the Dragon of Space again… She should have quit a long time ago. When she was eleven and had first seen Muruta Azrael… She would have quit then. It was too late for that though. She could quit now. She could stop being a… There wasn't even a bad enough word in her vocabulary to describe what she thought of herself.

"I don't know Le Creuset," Ted Elthsman said. "She's safer as the Dragon of Space."

"I beg to differ," Arli replied. "The Earth Forces don't know that Arli Elthsman is the Dragon of Space. It'll be harder for them if the Dragon doesn't show her face anymore."

_It'll be better for my mental health if I never have to see a member of Blue Cosmos again,_ Arli thought coldly, ignoring the dark shadow at the back of her mind that was struggling to make itself heard.

"What if we need your services again?" Ezaliah Joule asked. Arli looked at her. One day that woman would be her mother-in-law. It was planned by her and Arli's father. And Arli hated Ezaliah. Everytime she looked into that woman's eyes the only thing she could see was hatred. Arli knew that mother-in-law was an acronym for woman-Hitler and thought that it applied directly to her future mother-in-law.

"I have ten assassins trained who are almost as good as I am," Arli replied. "They are loyal and true." _To me that is…_ "Call on them if you need assistance. I will tell them that they have strict orders to work as I would have."

Siegel looked at Arli over his clasped hands. "Arli… I think that if this is what you want then we will have to grant your wishes," he decided. "You will stay as a Red Jacket Elite and I would like to induct you into the Special Forces FAITH group."

"No," Arli replied. "The Dragon of Space is a FAITH soldier. I am not."

"But-"

"Chairman Clyne, I accepted the Order of the Nebula last year and that is all I am willing to do on behalf of who I was born to be. I am no longer that person and therefore I will not carry any semblance to her. I'm not a FAITH soldier; I am just an Elite Pilot of the Le Creuset Team."

The Council members all looked at Siegel who sighed and nodded.

"Very well, as you wish," he murmured. "Le Creuset, are you in agreement with this?"

"I am, Chairman," Commander Le Creuset nodded. Siegel smiled.

"Arli, you're freed from your duties as the Dragon of Space."

"Thankyou," Arli sighed and bowed.

A few more words were passed around and Siegel stood and adjourned the meeting. Arli and Commander Le Creuset stood outside the council room and saluted as the members walked out.

Patrick Zala and Ezaliah Joule went passed discussing something about the war. They were on the defence committee after all. Siegel and Ted, however, stopped in front of Arli.

"Lacus will be very upset about this," Siegel told Arli and she dropped her arm from her salute.

"I know," she sighed. "Let me tell her, please Siegel."

"Of course," Siegel replied with a smile. He glanced at Ted whose amethyst eyes were worried.

"The military Arli? Why?" Ted questioned.

"I told you why," Arli replied and sighed. "Don't worry Dad, I'll be fine."

"Dearka volunteered yesterday," Ted explained and Siegel looked at him sympathetically.

"So have Patrick, Ezaliah and Yuri's sons," Siegel replied. "As Commander Le Creuset said, a large number over the average have volunteered. Junius Seven has shaken up our nation."

Arli looked down guiltily as the sadness flared in her father's eyes. They didn't know. How could they know? Nobody knew except Arli herself. The tragedy. It was tearing her apart inside and that was one reason she was joining the military. She was going to stop this war. She was going to finish it… or die in the process. Both options felt right to her.

-----

_Three months later, December City Space Port, Vesalius_

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Arli floated onto the Vesalius, saluting the soldier ticking names off at the front door. She knew that they were gaining a bunch of new recruits but she didn't particularly like the idea of having to baby-sit a bunch of newbie pilots straight of military school.

Arli went to her room. She didn't have to have a bunk room because she was the only girl on the Le Creuset Team so she got an upgrade and had a room to herself. After making sure everything was in place, Arli left her quarters and made her way to the briefing room where Commander Le Creuset was waiting.

"Arli," he greeted, pleased.

"Commander," Arli replied, saluting. She grabbed the podium to stay herself. Commander Le Creuset was sitting at the table over to the side. He was waiting for the new pilots and Arli was supposed to speak with the new Red Jackets when they arrived. She hated the idea of new pilots. She really did.

"You seem upset," Commander Le Creuset noted.

"Of course I am," Arli replied. "We don't need new pilots."

"Yes we do. I believe that they've been assigned to keep an eye on you. After what happened last time…"

Arli rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I don't need a babysitter and it really wasn't my fault that my GINN was destroyed."

"Five babysitters actually," Commander Le Creuset replied. He tilted his head slightly. "And we don't have an actual mission yet. We're just on PLANT and Lunar orbit until the Team is accustomed to each other and a job comes up."

Arli glared off to the side.

"I wish we didn't have to take a bunch of newbies," Arli groaned. "Graduates are frustrating."

"I think you'll be pleased with the pilots we've been assigned." Commander Le Creuset smiled slightly.

"I don't think I will," Arli replied.

There was a buzz at the door and both Le Creuset and Arli looked over.

"_Commander, the new pilots have arrived,_" Miguel's voice said on the other side. Miguel had been with the team since just before the Bloody Valentine and Arli liked him. He was funny.

"Let them in," Commander Le Creuset called. The door opened and five teenage boys filed in. Arli blinked and stared and a smile spread across her face.

"Dearka? Athrun? Yzak?" she questioned, her rose-pink eyes sparkling.

"Hey Arlz," Dearka chuckled. Her brother was a year older than her and looked just like her with tanned skin, blond hair but with dark purple eyes instead of pink ones. Arli smiled at seeing him in a red uniform.

With her brother was her childhood friend Athrun Zala. He looked the same as ever with his indigo hair and bright, emerald eyes. He smiled at her and Arli grinned in response. On her fourteenth birthday, Athrun had made her a robotic cat named Lily. Arli kept her with her all of the time. Lily lived in her quarters on the ship during missions.

"It's good to see you, Ath," Arli smiled.

"And you," Athrun replied.

Arli's eyes moved to Yzak, her fiancé. They were engaged but rarely spent any time together. They'd known each other most of their lives and seeing him now made Arli's stomach tighten and her heart jump a little. She had always harboured a little crush on her brother's best friend and when their parents engaged them, she'd been ecstatic but not once had he shown that he cared about her. He probably didn't. He had neat silver hair and the most beautiful blue eyes that Arli had ever seen.

"Yzak," Arli greeted. He nodded in response. _Why does he always have to look so angry?_

Arli shook her head and looked at the other two pilots. One of them was shorter than the others but not shorter than Arli- this fact had her gritting her teeth, why did she have to be so small?- with curly green hair and warm mahogany eyes. The last was a tall red-head with grey-blue eyes. When Arli looked into them she found kindness and maturity. She decided that she liked both of these boys very much.

"You already know Yzak, Dearka and Athrun," Commander Le Creuset said. "These other two are Nicol Armalfi and Rusty Meckenzie. Boys this is Arliania Elthsman, she'll be your superior. I'll leave you to brief them on our team and what we're going to be doing for the next couple of months."

"Sir," Arli replied. They all saluted as Commander Le Creuset left them. Arli returned her eyes to the boys in front of her and smiled. "When they told me we were being assigned some graduates, I never imagined it would be you."

"Dad probably pulled some strings," Dearka chuckled.

Arli smiled. "Yeah, you're right."

Athrun smiled and even Yzak's expression softened as they looked at Arli's happy face. They hadn't seen each other in a while and the last time Dearka had seen his sister she had seem so depressed that he'd barely recognised her.

"So, Arli," Yzak said. "Sorry, _ma'am_, what's our objective?"

Arli rolled her eyes. "Arli will do, thanks, Yzak. And right now? Well, we're just on orbit. We aren't even doing anything interesting… For now anyway."

Dearka, Yzak and Athrun all looked at each other. They knew the truth about who Arli was and so they knew that if they had the Dragon of Space on their team, it wouldn't be long before they were given something interesting to do.

But right at that moment, Arli was just so glad to be with her brother, her fiancé and one of her very best friends- as well as two people who were going to become very close to her over the next few months- that she really didn't care.


	2. Phase One

**Phase One - When At War...  
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**I really do like this version better. I feel like I've actually placed Arli's character together better in this version. Here's phase one. Kira doesn't have a large part in this chapter but he will in the next one. Oh and I couldn't resist. I love the idea of Rusty and so I was very upset that we never got to know him in the series so he features in good enough proportions in this chapter. Oh and I forgot the bloody disclaimer:**

**Characters, mobile suits and ships belong to Sunrise.**

**Arli belongs to me as does her mobile suit the GAT-X250 Combat which appears at the end of this episode.  
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_CE 71 - Vesalius outside of Heliopolis Space Colony_

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The briefing room was quiet for the first time since the Le Creuset Team had officially been formed. Yzak and Dearka weren't arguing in loud voices, Nicol wasn't muttering to himself and writing music, Rusty wasn't trying to diffuse an outburst between Athrun and Yzak, Athrun wasn't chatting with Arli and Arli herself was silent and confined.

This was it. Their first real mission. They'd been on other missions before, true, but nothing this important. This could probably be considered their christening as soldiers of ZAFT. For all of them besides Arli, that is.

"Isn't Heliopolis an Orb colony?" Nicol asked. It was the first sound that had been made since Commander Le Creuset had told them of their mission.

Arli looked up at the youngest member of their team. He was looking at her for an answer and she smiled kindly at him. The others watched Arli carefully for her reaction, as soldiers they were still pretty much newbies.

"Yes, it is a neutral colony," Arli replied. "Which is why I'm sceptical of this information that the Commander received."

"Why would it be wrong?" Yzak asked snidely and Arli shot him a dark look.

"Why would a neutral nation help the Earth Forces build weapons to use on the ZAFT Forces?" Arli replied and Yzak was quiet for a moment.

"But they have to be," Rusty spoke up and Arli looked at him. "From what the Commander said, these mobile suits are more advanced than anything even we have and we all know that Morganraete has the most advanced technology of any company."

"True as that may be, Morganraete belongs to Orb, I-"

"Orb are naturals, just like the Earth Forces," Dearka added. "That's why they'd help."

"May I remind you, dear brother, that there are coordinators living in Orb and that we have naturals as a part of the ZAFT Forces as well," Arli snapped. "I'd think before I opened my mouth if I were you."

Dearka fell silent and Yzak opened his mouth to speak but Athrun cut him off.

"What if Morganraete was acting independently of the Orb government?" Athrun questioned. Arli looked at him, frowning slightly.

"That is possible," Arli mused. "I suppose it would make sense."

Athrun nodded, pleased with having diffused the situation so easily. He smiled at Arli and she returned the gesture warmly and stood up. She put her hands in her pockets and could feel the edge of the photo that she carried with her at all times.

"I'm going to speak with the Commander," she explained. "I'll see you all later."

Arli went to the door and kicked out, frowning unhappily. Invading a neutral colony was not something that she particularly liked the idea of but when you are a soldier in the middle of a war you have no choice but to do as you're told or risk execution for insubordination or defection.

"Arli!"

Arli turned and looked at Yzak. She placed her hand on the wall to stay herself. Yzak floated up beside her and stopped across the hall from her.

"What?" Arli asked gently.

"If there are only five of these mobile suits then what are you doing?" Yzak asked. "Commander Le Creuset pulled you aside at the end and spoke to you. What are you going to be doing?"

Arli sighed and looked away.

"We also received Intel about a new warship that the Earth Forces were having built," Arli explained. "It's supposed to be a brand new class with new capabilities. I'm supposed to gather whatever information I can find on it and return here with it."

Yzak nodded and looked at the floor. "The Commander said that we'll have to force them out before we can get our hands on the G-Weapons. You didn't look too happy about it."

"What's your point?" Arli questioned, slightly annoyed.

"What's bothering you about it?" Yzak looked at Arli, his blue eyes concerned. Arli refused to use to her mind-reading trick on Yzak. She didn't use it on her team mates because it was unfair and an invasion of privacy.

"I don't like the idea of attacking a neutral colony," Arli explained. "The people who live there want nothing to do with the war and we're bringing it right to their front door."

Yzak rolled his eyes and Arli glared at him.

"They built those things, what do they expect to happen?" Yzak replied.

"And this is why I don't tell you things." Arli glowered at Yzak and he glared back. "You're a pretty lousy fiancé, you know that?"

Arli kicked off the wall leaving Yzak in a shocked silence, his eyes wide.

--

"Commander!" Arli called, entering the bridge and stopping to stand behind her commander's chair. Commander Le Creuset looked around at her in surprise.

"Arli? What is it?" he questioned. Arli bit her lip and looked away. "You seem upset."

"I just don't think this attack on Heliopolis is justified," Arli explained. Captain Ades looked at Arli with a frown, surprised by her tone.

"Our Intel is from a reliable source," Commander Le Creuset replied. He frowned slightly. "What would you rather us do than attack? We cannot allow the Earth Forces to mass produce these machines. We must take them for ourselves if we want to survive this war without losing our entire species to an attack from the Earth Forces."

"Of course we can't," Arli agreed. Just the thought of an attack causing a greater amount of deaths than Junius-Seven was horrendous to Arli. "But wouldn't it make more sense to send in a spy? Just to clarify that the machines are actually here. They might have moved them and then we will be attacking a neutral colony for no reason. Do you want to bring the power of Orb down on our heads?"

Commander Le Creuset sighed. "Nobody wants that, my dear," he replied and fixed Arli with a hard stare. Arli could only just see the outline of the man's eyes behind the glass of his mask. She wondered what she would find if one day she could see his eyes. She also dreaded the thought of that.

"Then why-?"

"Would you be willing to go in as our spy? To return to your roots and become the Dragon of Space again?" Arli's eyes narrowed dangerously at her commander's question. "I thought not. Therefore this course of action is the most correct one we could take."

"But why not wait for a reply from HQ? Not only are we attacking an Orb colony but we're also doing it without any orders from higher ups." Arli clenched her hands into fists. "This doesn't seem right to me, Commander."

"Our aim is not to cause harm to anybody or the colony itself. We just want to take those mobile suits and any information on their new warship that you can get your hands on. I will hear no more arguments out of you, Arli. Am I understood?"

Arli met the Commander's gaze with a dark look and she struggled to keep a hold on the walls that protected her from being consumed by the dark shadow in her mind. She sighed and saluted.

"Clearly, sir," she replied. "Forgive me for my words. They were out of line."

"Nonsense, my dear. I am pleased that you came to speak with me but we are doing the right thing. I am sure of it." Commander Le Creuset tilted his head. "You should tell the others to get ready. We will begin soon."

Arli nodded and turned to leave the bridge. She stopped outside as the door closed and clenched her hands into fists.

"Damn it!" she cursed and punched the wall as hard as she could. She leant her forehead against the cool metal and sighed. She hated this. She hated every moment of this. She just wanted to go back to the PLANTs. No she wanted to go back in time and never pull that trigger and then none of this would be happening.

Arli floated down to the locker rooms. The others were already dressed. Arli changed into her pilot suit in silence and pulled on her vest and attached her various guns and knives. When she turned around the others were looking at her worriedly.

"Are you alright?" Athrun questioned.

"I'm fine," Arli replied. She looked over at Yzak who was pointedly avoiding her eyes. "It's almost time. Let's get ready to leave." Arli pulled her helmet on and tried to avoid looking at Athrun. _Stupid, intuitive coordinator._

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_Orb Space Colony Heliopolis_

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Above Heliopolis's Morganraete facility was a hill covered in lush grass. It was here that the six red jacket pilots of the Le Creuset Team chose to sit and watch as their team mates wrought havoc upon the unsuspecting neutral colony. The colony was shaking violently from the bombs that the team had planted and also from the GINNs who had invaded the colony through one of the openings.

"This is sick," Arli growled. The others didn't hear her but Athrun glanced at her slightly.

"It's just like Commander Le Creuset said," Yzak announced pleased as he looked through his binoculars at the road leading out of the Morganraete warehouse.

_I guess they were actually here. Lucky for the Commander,_ Arli thought darkly, knowing exactly what she would have done if they'd attacked and the mobile suits hadn't been there.

"What? With the right amount of prodding they're sure to come out of their hole?" Dearka asked, chuckling slightly.

"We all know that the naturals are stupid and pathetic," Yzak agreed. Arli's hands clenched into fists automatically and she closed her eyes, breathing evenly to try and control her anger. Sometimes Yzak infuriated her beyond belief.

"_That's showing them Yzak_!" Miguel announced through the communicator. Arli felt herself shake slightly.

"Arlz," Athrun whispered and nudged her. Arli looked at him and he gave her a gentle smile. She smiled back.

"We'll have a chance in a few seconds," Rusty announced. He looked around Athrun at Arli with a smile frown. "Are you ready Arli?"

"Why are you asking _me_ if I'm ready?" Arli asked, looking at him. "You forget who you're talking to, Rusty Meckenzie."

Yzak snorted. "Yeah, don't get caught this time," he stated snidely.

"Shut up, Yzak," Athrun snapped. Arli was glaring at Yzak, hurt by his words.

"Why should I?" Yzak demanded, jumping to his feet and glowering at Athrun, shooting a dark glance at Arli. "She's allowed to tell me off for the way I think about things but I'm not allowed to be mad at her!"

"The way you view things is what is wrong with this world!" Arli snapped before Athrun could try and calm Yzak down. "Besides you're the one who attacked me when you asked me what was the matter! This is why you're probably the worst fiancé ever!"

"Maybe I don't want to be your fiancé! Did you ever think about that?" Yzak snapped. Arli took a step back and felt as though she'd been punched in the stomach. Dearka and Nicol both stood up and Athrun stepped in front of Arli looking furious.

"Yzak!" Dearka, Nicol and Athrun shouted.

"That is enough!" Rusty snapped. "Can we focus on the mission? You two leave your arguments for when we get back!"

Arli dropped her gaze, her eyes hurt while Yzak just turned away, his arms folded.

"Let's go," Athrun decided. "There's no point waiting any longer."

The six pilots jumped from the hill, activating the glide compacts on the back of their suits and floated down towards the havoc on the road where the ground soldiers and green jacket pilots were fighting the Earth Forces.

"There are only three here!" Dearka commented.

"The others are probably inside!" Athrun replied. "Rusty and I will go inside with Arli to get them."

Arli glanced at Athrun and he nodded at her.

"Right," Yzak replied. "If you're piloting one, don't forget to disable to self-destruct."

"Right," the others agreed.

"Come on," Rusty said, gesturing to Arli and Athrun. Dearka, Yzak and Nicol pulled up to land. Dearka looked at Athrun and Rusty though.

"Look after her," he requested.

"Will do!" Rusty replied, winking. "Come on Arlz."

Arli glanced back at Yzak, felt a rush of anger and clenched her teeth before going with Athrun and Rusty, landing easily in front of the Morganraete factory and gathering with a group of ground soldiers.

"Our main objective is the get the mobile suits out of here undamaged," Athrun announced. "We also have to cover Arli so that she can sneak around to the office sections of the factory."

"If they haven't been blown up," Arli commented and Athrun ignored her.

"Make sure nothing happens to Arli or the mobile suits," Rusty finished. "Let's head in."

Arli was moved into the middle of the group of soldiers and she pulled her rifle from her back and cocked it, ready to fire. The soldiers moved in to join the other ground soldiers inside. They were immediately assaulted by gunfire from the Earth Forces engineers in the factory.

"Arli! The stairwell!" Rusty shouted and pointed. Arli nodded and ducked out from the group and killed three Earth Forces soldiers in front of her. She ducked under some bullets and ran up the stairs quickly, returning fire downwards to try and help out Rusty and Athrun as best that she could.

She dodged another bullet and spotted two people ahead of her. Two teenagers around her age. One of them, a girl with blonde hair, was on her knees.

"Father!" she screamed. "I knew you betrayed us all!"

_What on Earth?_ Arli muttered. Gunfire was directed at the two kids and the young, brunette male grabbed the girl and ran.

"There!" Arli shouted. They stared at her in shock. "Go! If you don't leave now then you'll be caught up in something that you'll never get yourselves out of! Go!" She shoved the boy and girl down the corridor. They ran and Arli turned and fired down at the Earth Forces soldiers again.

She ducked down another corridor and found a stairwell that went up. She put her rifle back onto her back and pulled out a hand gun, she took off the safety and stopped running. She could still hear the sounds of fighting and she shivered slightly as it echoed around her.

Her breathing and heartbeat were the loudest sounds around her. She took a deep breath to steady herself and then started running up the stairwell. Her footsteps echoed around her as they rebounded off the metal walls.

Arli stopped at a door and pushed it. It was locked so she stepped back and fired at the locking mechanism. She kicked the door open and walked through. Almost immediately she felt her body lift with weightlessness and she frowned. She was supposed to be going to the offices. Where was she?

Arli pushed off the wall and floated down the tunnel. As she went along she noticed that the damage from the explosions was getting worse and she even saw bodies floating around. Arli tried to ignore them and kept going. She managed to find another corridor and went down it. It opened up into a large hanger blocked with chunks of metal.

Inside the hanger was a large, oddly shaped warship.

"The Earth Forces' new mobile assault ship," Arli murmured. "Better than the files."

The back entrance to the hanger was open and Arli floated down, keeping an eye out for any surviving Earth Forces officials. She slipped inside the hanger and found herself in darkness. She waited for her eyesight to adjust and then frowned.

"No way," she breathed. Arli approached the large mobile suit, her eyes wide with amazement. "I thought there were only five."

The mobile suit was slightly damaged, probably from the blast. It was standing up, held up by cables connected to the ship. Arli floated up level with the cockpit and slipped her gun back into her holster and opened the mobile suit. She perched on the opening of the cockpit and looked inside.

"You've got to be joking…"

She couldn't believe her luck.

"Hey you! ZAFT soldier! Get away from there!" a furious voice shouted.

Arli started and dropped one of her guns. It floated into the cockpit as she turned and met the eyes of a furious looking Earth Forces soldier in full military dress.

_Oh shit. Yzak, this is all your fault!_


	3. Phase Two

**Phase Two - The Archangel**

**Hey guys ^.^ Here's the next chappy. I'm trying to work on this as much as I can. Two weeks until school holidays and I'll be going up the coast for a holiday so I should have plenty of time to write. We go to this place every year. It's right next to this rainforest and I love to write there. I can spend hours down in the trees, notepad in hand, jotting down ideas and then I go back to the cabin to write. I do my best writing when I'm relaxed and the coast makes me calm, I love the ocean ^.^**

**Right enough rambling. Here's the new chapter. I hope you all like it ^.^  
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_Heliopolis__, outside Morganraete_

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Athrun watched the fifth mobile suit warily just as one of the team's khaki GINNs landed in front of him.

"Athrun!" Miguel said. "Where's Rusty?"

Athrun sighed, closing his eyes. "Rusty failed," he replied. "An Earth Forces soldier is inside that machine."

_And possibly my best friend…_ Athrun watched the mobile suit. He was so sure he'd seen Kira. But no… No, Kira could not be dragged into the war. There was no way it was Kira. It couldn't be.

Athrun sighed.

"What about Arli?" Miguel asked.

Athrun frowned. "She isn't back yet," he replied.

"What? That isn't like her. Do you think…?"

"I hope not." Athrun clenched his fists tightly. _Please let her be alright._

"Right, you go back to the ship, I'll take out this mobile suit and wait for Arli," Miguel decided. He enabled the beam on his sword and ran towards the fifth mobile suit. Athrun's eyes widened worriedly. As much as he hoped it hadn't been his childhood friend the fact of the matter was that Kira was probably inside that mobile suit.

Luckily the pilot activated the Phase Shift armour and Miguel's weapon had no effect on it.

"What the hell?" Miguel shouted.

"Each machine is equipped with a system called Phase Shift Armour," Athrun explained, activating the Aegis's own PS armour to demonstrate. "When activated it renders the GINN's sword useless."

Miguel growled on the other end of the communicator and Athrun's eyes wandered again to the mobile suit, fearing that it was actually his old friend inside there.

"Athrun! You get out of here!" Miguel shouted. "The Commander will kill you if its damaged."

Athrun sighed.

"Make sure Arli gets out safely," Athrun reminded Miguel and took to the air praying for the brown-haired boy he'd seen in the factory and also for Arli because he couldn't get a hold of her.

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_The Archangel, Bridge_

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Arli, her hands bound behind her, was being led towards the bridge of the ship by the Crewman who had found her inside the hanger. He was pushing her roughly, a gun jammed uncomfortably into her lower back. He opened the door to the bridge and entered it.

A young woman turned and her eyes widened in shock as she saw the red jacket ZAFT pilot in her ship's bridge. She was only an Ensign from the rank badges on her shoulders.

"What is this, Crewman Neumann?" the woman demanded furiously.

"We found this one down in the hanger looking at the Combat," the man behind Arli explained. Arli guessed he was Crewman Neumann.

The woman turned her violet eyes onto Arli. "This is all we need. Just leave her here. We need to get the ship moving."

The man left Arli who glared at the woman in front of her.

"What's your name?" the woman demanded. Arli didn't reply. "Take off your helmet."

"Why should I?" Arli snapped. The black haired woman's eyes narrowed further as she glared at Arli. Arli relaxed her mind and her eyes bored into the woman's. Arli was enveloped in a lifetime of memories, thoughts, feelings. She could read the woman's very emotional and spiritual make-up. She wasn't actually a bad person. Arli was the enemy and she was flustered because she wasn't really sure what to do in this situation.

_Maybe I should cut her some slack,_ Arli thought. She had a quick search and found the woman's name. It was Natarle Badgeruile.

"You're a prisoner of the Earth Forces, take off your helmet," Ensign Badgeruile growled.

"I can't." Arli shifted her arms slightly. "Your crew member made that kind of impossible for me. If you want the helmet off, take it off yourself."

"I don't have time for you." Natarle sat down in the captain's seat and Arli looked around the bridge. She noticed how understaffed the ship was. She guessed that the explosions had wiped out most members of the crew, including the captain by the looks of it.

Arli listened as the crew checked the ship's functions to make sure it was alright. They seemed rather disorganised to Arli and she frowned. How could people like this, rookies no less, pilot a brand new warship and G-Weapons? It just made absolutely no sense.

"All systems are ready to go, Ensign Badgeruile," Crewman Neumann called.

"We'll have to blow our way out," Natarle announced.

_Oh…_

"That might be a bad idea," Arli whispered.

"You be quiet," Natarle snapped, shooting a glare at Arli. Arli shrugged and straightened up. She set about trying to remove the ties on her wrists. "Aim Godfreids, prepare for a rough ride! This is Earth Forces' Mobile Assault Ship Archangel, taking off!"

There was silence for a moment as the ship floated gently forward.

"FIRE!"

Arli closed her eyes and heard the explosion. The ship rocked and shuddered violently and Arli stumbled backwards. She hit the side of the bridge and groaned.

_I _said_ it was a bad idea…_ Arli struggled against her bonds and wished that the soldier hadn't taken her weapons from her. She could have really used her knife right about now. She tried to pull one of her wrists from the tight rope but she just ended up twisting the joint painfully.

"Dammit," Arli hissed. She looked out the front windows of the ship and was surprised to see that the colony walls appeared unharmed. Then she noticed a white mobile suit and a red mobile armour flying around. Arli stepped back to the captain's chair and stared out in shock.

"Commander?" she whispered. Her hands clenched into fists angrily. _You promised that the colony would be unharmed you bastard!_

"Isn't that the Strike?" somebody asked and both Arli and Ensign Badgeruile looked down to the ground. A white, blue and red mobile suit was standing with a green cannon in its hands.

"What…?" Arli frowned. Oh no. One of her team mates… failed. Her eyes filled with tears. Who was dead? Which life had been lost because of Commander Le Creuset? Whoever it had been Arli was going to shoot the Commander the next time she got that chance.

What if it had been Nicol, who was only fifteen? What if it was Athrun, her best friend on the team? Dearka, her brother? Or Yzak when the last thing she'd said to him had been really horrible?

"We have to back up the Lieutenant!" Ensign Badgeruile said while Arli's eyes were stuck on the Strike which was raising its huge cannon.

"No!" Arli shouted just as the rest of the crew noticed the Strike fire it. It missed the Commander's mobile suit and instead blew a giant hole in the wall of the colony. Commander Le Creuset flew out.

"Idiot!" Arli snarled. "Who the hell is piloting that thing?"

There was silence all through the bridge and nobody reprimanded Arli for shouting.

"Let's land," Ensign Badgeruile muttered. "Open the hanger and we'll let the Lieutenant land and have the Strike come on board." The Ensign stood up and she looked at Arli coldly. Arli shrugged and followed her as she left the bridge.

"So…" Arli frowned. She stopped talking when she heard guns being loaded behind her. She didn't really feel like having to dodge bullets and inside a confined area it might be kind of difficult.

Ensign Badgeruile took them down to the hanger where Arli's eyes were immediately drawn to the mobile suit. The Combat- as the crewman had called it- looked kind of damaged and Arli wished she could get inside and have a look at its data.

She turned her eyes to the opening of the hanger where bright light was streaming inside. A woman in orange overalls was standing with a bunch of kids who had just climbed off the hand of the Strike mobile suit. A man with curly blond hair was standing with the mechanics by his Mobius mobile armour.

"Lieutenant Ramias!" Natarle shouted and rushed over. "Are you alright?"

Arli hung back slightly by the soldiers with guns as the two women greeted each other. The man came over and introduced himself as Lieutenant Mwu La Flaga of the Eighth Orbital Group. So this was the Hawk of Endymion?

Just then the pilot of the Strike climbed out of the mobile suit causing shock to run around the whole hanger. Arli stared. It was that kid from the factory.

"He's the pilot of the Strike?" Natarle asked.

"He's just a kid, just learned to shave and he's piloting it?" a mechanic asked sceptically.

Arli stared. Something about the kid seemed so familiar but she just couldn't seem to place it. Where had she seen his face before?

"This is Kira Yamato," Lieutenant Murrue Ramias introduced. "As you can see he's a teenage civilian. He was in the factory district at the time of the attack so I brought him aboard the G-Weapon."

_That name…_ Arli frowned deeply. She knew that name. But where had she heard it before?

"Kira Yamato…" Arli muttered. "Kira…"

"Shut up!" a soldier snapped and everyone turned to look at Arli.

"Who's this?" Mwu La Flaga asked.

"A ZAFT pilot we found in the hanger," Natarle Badgeruile. "She won't identify herself to us."

"Come here," Murrue Ramias ordered.

Arli shrugged and walked forwards. She examined Murrue Ramias's amber eyes and decided that she liked this woman despite the fact that she was an Earth Forces soldier glaring at Arli as though she was a piece of trash.

"What is your name, pilot?" La Flaga demanded. Arli glanced sideways at him and focused on his eyes. He was a genuine kind of man but something about the way he was glaring at her was irritating her deeply.

"Take her helmet off," Murrue ordered. A soldier pulled Arli's helmet off. Her hair fell down her back in long, blonde waves and her rose-pink eyes narrowed at Lieutenant La Flaga.

"I'm Arliania Elthsman, Elite Red Jacket pilot of the Le Creuset Team," Arli explained. She glared. "I'd salute but that's kind of impossible for me."

La Flaga rolled his eyes and Arli glared.

"So, why is that kid inside the Strike?" Mwu asked, trying not to glare at Arli.

"I was injured and he took over," Murrue explained. "He completely rewrote the OS of the mobile suit so that we were able to compete with a GINN."

Arli blinked. _Rewrote… the OS?_

She turned around to stare at Kira as did everybody else. Arli relaxed and her eyes unfocused slightly as she delved into Kira's mind. She found the answer just as Lieutenant La Flaga spoke:

"So, tell me, you're a coordinator?" he asked.

Kira's violet eyes darkened and Arli frowned.

"Yes," he replied.

There were the sounds of gun clicks as the Earth Forces soldiers raised their guns. Kira bowed his head and one of his friends with wavy brown hair and bright turquoise eyes stepped in front of Kira. Arli didn't know what came over her but she walked over and stood in front of the two civilians.

"That is unjustified," Arli snarled. The soldiers seemed confused. It was against the law to harm a prisoner so they couldn't shoot Arli and it was an even worse crime to shoot civilians. "I'm standing here, wearing a ZAFT pilot uniform and yet all that I'm getting directed at me are glares. Don't point your guns at civilians. He saved this ship and the colony."

"You shut up," Natarle growled. "But stand down."

"Just because Kira's a coordinator doesn't mean he's an enemy," the boy behind Arli added. Arli turned around and stared at Kira. She knew his face from somewhere but it was almost impossible for her to place.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to cause a ruckus," Mwu said. "I was simply curious."

"I suppose it's normal," Murrue added. Arli looked back at her. "Some coordinators would have come to live in Orb to escape the war. Am I wrong, Kira?"

"No," Kira replied. Arli looked at him sadly. He'd wanted to stay out of the war and her team had brought it to him. "I also happen to be a first generation coordinator."

_No way!_ Arli blinked. First generation?

"So your parents are naturals?" Mwu questioned. "That explains it."

"What are we going to do?" Natarle asked.

_Just like I thought, they're in a huge mess…_

"There isn't much we can do," Mwu shrugged. "All we have is my damaged Mobius and the colony has been damaged pretty badly." Arli winced. Mwu started to walked away. "And we have the Le Creuset Team waiting for us out there. That man is persistent…"

"So you're just going to wait for them to come and destroy this ship and the colony?" Arli demanded without thinking. Mwu turned to stare at her. Arli's eyes were narrowed darkly. Her team had caused the war to come to these innocent peoples' lives and she hated the thought of the Earth Forces not defending them when it was their fault.

"What do you want us to do?" Mwu demanded. "Your team has made this kind of difficult for us."

"Oh I don't know, maybe you could stop being such a coward and come up with a plan!"

"I'm thinking about this logically!"

"You're being a coward!" Arli's eyes flashed. "Maybe you could always go and grab a rifle and shoot at the mobile suits! This is a Mobile Assault Ship! It can fight! You have two coordinators and two G-Weapons! Think about it, you idiot!"

"Okay smart-arse, you're going to the brig!" Mwu snarled.

"Aw, I love you too," Arli crooned sarcastically.

"That is enough!" Murrue Ramias shouted. "Somebody escort her to a cell and Lieutenant, try acting like an adult please."

Arli gave Mwu a snide look as she was led away from the hanger. Her eyes dropped to the floor and she sighed. This was one big mess that she was partly responsible for. Oh who was she kidding? Everything that happened in this war was her fault because the war itself was her fault.

Now a bunch of children from Orb had been dragged into this. Arli had to do something or they'd end up getting hurt.


	4. Phase Three

**Phase Three - Heliopolis**

**Yay new chapter!!!! I like this one because I got to write a bit with Yzak and Athrun in it!! I love Athrun and Yzak (totally not obvious, right?) ^.^ I've been writing bits of this during my english classes because I told my teacher it was research for my character analysis (I was doing it on Athrun). I'm nearly finished and if anybody would like it I could put my character analysis of Athrun on so you can read it (though many might disagree with a few of the things I said in it).**

**Okay let's get on with this ^.^  
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_Vesalius, Locker Room_

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Athrun waited until Miguel came inside until his heart actually fell. No small, blonde figure accompanied Miguel into the locker room, a triumphant smirk on her face because she'd once again proved how amazing she was.

"Miguel…" Athrun's heart felt heavy.

"Sorry Athrun," Miguel replied. "I waited as long as I could but the Strike damaged me."

_I know… if _he_ was piloting it…_ Athrun shook his head. No, it couldn't have been Kira. No way in hell was that his best friend inside that mobile suit.

"It's okay Miguel," Athrun replied. "I just-"

"Athrun!"

They both turned as Dearka came into the locker room, followed by Nicol and Yzak. They all looked varying degrees of shocked and upset. Nicol stopped by Athrun and Dearka and Yzak floated over by Miguel.

"Where're Rusty and Arli?" Nicol asked.

"Rusty was shot inside the factory," Athrun replied quietly. "And Arli… she never came out…"

There was silence for a moment. Shock was on all three of the others' faces. Miguel and Athrun both looked sad.

"What?!" Yzak shouted and grabbed Athrun by the collar of his uniform. He slammed him into the windows that looked out into the hanger. Athrun's eyes widened as Yzak's narrowed with anger. "You said you'd look after her!"

"I tried but I couldn't stay with her the whole time!" Athrun shouted back. Then his eyes narrowed. "Besides I thought you didn't care about her Yzak!"

"Shut up, you bastard!" Yzak snarled. "How could you let that happen to her?"

"Yzak!" Nicol and Dearka shouted. They both grabbed Yzak and pulled him away from Athrun. Athrun glared at Yzak who struggled against Dearka, his hands in fists. He looked as though he wanted to punch Athrun.

"Calm down!" Dearka ordered. "It isn't Athrun's fault! That place was swarming with Earth Forces soldiers!"

"But she never gets caught!" Yzak protested. "How could…? Why…?" Yzak pulled away from Dearka and left the locker room.

"Yzak!" Dearka shouted.

"Leave him," Nicol suggested.

"No, he might punch somebody," Dearka sighed. "I'll talk with him." He left the locker room, calling after Yzak.

"I'll go and help him," Miguel muttered and left too.

Nicol and Athrun both sighed and Athrun leant back against the hanger windows again. Nicol looked at him sadly.

"It's horrible about Rusty," he murmured. "But there's still a chance Arli could be alive… right?"

"Maybe," Athrun replied. "It-"

"It's not your fault," Nicol assured him. "Don't listen to Yzak. You know how he gets. This is Arli we're talking about. She'll be fine."

"Yeah… we hope anyway." Athrun sighed and looked away from Nicol. He was so confused and worried. He just wanted everything to go back to normal.

--

Yzak punched the wall of the room he shared with Dearka and swore loudly. He leant his head against the cool metal. Arli never got caught so what had happened? Had she been shot? Was she lying injured somewhere? No… she was probably dead.

And the last thing he'd said to her was so awful.

"Hey Yzak?" Dearka said gently, opening the door and joining Yzak.

"Leave me alone," Yzak snapped.

"No," Dearka replied. "You can't blame Athrun. It wasn't his fault. As much as I would like to blame him, the fact is that he was in a different part of the facility to Arli. She's… probably dead, Yzak. You'll have to-"

"No!" Yzak shouted and turned to glare at Dearka. He almost hit him. Almost. He managed to just clench his hands into fists and refrain from throwing punches. "She can't be dead! She can't be! I have to apologise for what I said to her… I can't leave it that way… I just can't…"

Yzak sighed and Dearka went to put a hand on his shoulder but Yzak pulled away.

"Just leave me alone, Dearka," Yzak sighed and left their room. He floated down the corridor and frowned. Arli's room…

Yzak opened the door and went inside. He looked around. Her wardrobe with her uniform was hanging open, a spare uniform and other clothes hanging inside. He looked over to her bedside table. A framed picture of her family was sitting on there, along with a photo of herself and Lacus Clyne when they were younger.

A book was on Arli's bed. Yzak tilted his head to read the title. It was one of those romance novels that she was so fond of. A page was marked and Yzak picked up the book and opened it.

_I blinked and looked at Marcus sadly. Why was he doing this? It wasn't right. Didn't he love me anymore? Had I done something wrong?_

_"Mark…"_

_"It's not about you exactly… It's just…" Marcus sighed sadly and ran a hand through his hair…_

Yzak shut the book and put it back on Arli's bed. Romance novels were boring and predictable but Arli believed in love so she loved them.

Yzak looked around. All around the room were little things that showed Arli's personality. Some posters were on the walls, a few unframed photos in her bedside table drawer. Yzak took them out and went through them. There was one missing… Ah it was the one of the team. Arli usually took it with her on missions. It was her good luck charm.

"Yzak!"

Yzak jumped and looked around. On top of Arli's wardrobe was a pink, mechanical cat. Its green eyes glowed and it jumped and floated down to Yzak. He caught Lily and frowned. Arli never took Lily on missions.

"Arli…" Lily beeped and tilted its head.

"Not home yet," Yzak sighed. He'd take care of Lily until Arli came back. She had to come back. She just had to…

-----

_Archangel__, Brig_

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Arli stared up at the roof in annoyance. She sighed and closed her eyes. This was just great. How was she supposed to help anybody like this?

Because of her team's attack on the colony the Earth Forces were disorganised and they had a bunch of kids to protect, not to mention all of the people inside the life pods located around the colony. Plus the colony itself needed protecting.

Something inside Arli wanted to get inside of that other mobile suit. Maybe she could look after the ship and the kids on board.

Those kids… Kira Yamato… She knew his name and his face. But where from?

"Hey Arliania…"

Arli sat up. _Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear…_ She thought cheekily. She smiled slightly at Kira. He was looking awkward but he smiled back.

"Hi Kira," Arli replied. "What is it?"

"I came to say thankyou," Kira mumbled. "For what happened in the hanger."

"No problem. By the way I hate it when people use my full name, just called me Arli." Arli crossed her legs and examined Kira curiously. "I feel like I know you from somewhere…"

Kira smiled. "You probably don't. I never lived on the PLANTs."

"Right…" Arli tilted her head, her hair falling over her shoulder. "I know I've seen you somewhere before. I'm sure I have."

Kira frowned. "I went to a Lunar Prep school, maybe you went there too," he suggested.

Arli frowned. "I never went to school. I've been in the military for most of my life. So that's not it…"

"Okay. If you figure it out let me know." Kira smiled and turned to leave.

_Lunar__ Prep school__?_ Arli thought and then it hit her.

"Wait!" she shouted and jumped to her feet. Kira turned back to the door and Arli went up to him and looked him directly in the eyes. He looked a little uncomfortable with her intense scrutiny. _Yes, this time she had it._ "Do you know Athrun Zala?"

Kira's eyes widened. "I went to school with him. He was-"

"Your best friend," Arli finished, reading the thought easily. "That's where I know you from. Athrun used to talk about you during the school holidays up until the end of the school year before Junius-Seven happened and the war started. He has pictures of you up on his wall."

Kira looked surprised. "You know Athrun?"

"He's been my friend since I was little," Arli replied with a smile. "Our mothers were friends so we grew up together. Athrun talked about you all of the time. I always wondered if I'd ever get the chance to meet you. Athrun was so fond of you that I wanted to get to know you."

"That's so weird…" Kira smiled slightly. "Now you have met me."

"Under not-so-good circumstances." Arli laughed. "The world works in mysterious ways."

"So… is Athrun in ZAFT?" Kira asked in a quiet voice, his head down.

Arli ducked down slightly to look at Kira's face. "Yes, he is," she whispered. She reached out and lifted Kira's head so that she could look at him. "Why? Did you see him?"

"I did." Kira sighed and closed his eyes while Arli's heart leapt. So Athrun wasn't the one who was killed. "Why is he in the military? He used to tell me that he hated war."

"He does, that's why he's fighting." Arli sighed. "It's fairly complicated and-"

"The ship is entering combat! All hands to Level One battle stations!" Murrue Ramias's voice shouted through the intercom. She repeated it a few times and Arli and Kira met each other's eyes.

"Oh…" Arli murmured.

"I don't… I think…" Kira shook his head and Arli bit her lip.

"Kira… now that you've rewritten the OS on that mobile suit, nobody except a coordinator will be able to pilot it," Arli informed him. "Maybe you should pilot it… Your friends are on this ship. You have to protect them."

Kira frowned. "But Athrun…" He shook his head again.

"Kira… please…" Arli looked at him beseechingly. Kira turned and rushed away. Arli hoped he was going to pilot that mobile suit. The ship wouldn't last without…

Arli frowned and refocused on the part of the door that she'd been staring at without realising it. It was the lock of the door. Arli reached her head out through the bars and was able to feel the key hole.

A triumphant smile graced the great assassin's face and she unzipped her pilot suit and pulled a flat object from her bra, unfolded it on a hinge to reveal a sharp mechanism and reached back around to the lock and fiddled for a few moments. The door unlocked and swung open.

"Excellent," Arli smirked and folded the lock-picker back up. She found the split on her clothing and slipped it back inside. Being a girl was wonderful at times like this.

Arli zipped her pilot suit back up, retrieved her helmet and slipped out of the brig and glanced up the corridor. She couldn't see any personnel so she hurried down the corridor. It was fairly familiar and soon enough she found herself down by the hanger.

Arli tucked her helmet under her arm and floated into the hanger. Everybody was rushing around like crazy and Arli was able to sneak past them and to the Combat. She opened the cock pit and went inside just as someone shouted "HEY!"

"Okay," Arli murmured and closed the cockpit. She strapped herself into the seat and turned the machine on.

"GUNDAM?" Arli whispered. On the screen a set of words had appeared.

**G**eneral  
**U**nilateral  
**N**euro-link  
**D**ispersive  
**A**utomatic  
**M**anoeuvre-system

Arli shrugged it away and looked at the model. This mobile suit was the GAT-X250 Combat. She ran through the systems and her eyes narrowed. This thing was completely basic. Not to mention the slight damage to the machine.

Arli started working as fast as she could on the OS.

"Elthsman!" a furious voice snarled and Arli glanced up at the Captain's face. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to go out and look after this ship," Arli replied calmly, returning to her work. "You have somebody out there who has no idea what he's doing and he's up against the Le Creuset Team. Are you aware that we are one of the best team in ZAFT at the moment?"

"Yes, we are aware of that!" Mwu La Flaga shouted. "Are you aware that you're a member of ZAFT and of that team?"

"Duh," Arli replied.

"Are you also aware that that machine is damaged?"

"Yes," Arli replied. She was almost finished with the OS. "You do realise I'm wearing a red uniform? That means that I am an Elite pilot. I'm one of the best pilots in ZAFT too. This machine may be damaged but-"

"It might not function correctly," the Captain told her, not as hostilely as before.

"It'll function well enough for me to use," Arli explained. She finished and changed the screens and put her helmet on. "I don't wear this uniform for nothing."

Mwu and Murrue stared at her and both of them sighed.

"You won't turn against us?" Murrue asked.

"I swear it on my life, ma'am," Arli explained. "I won't let civilians die. Now open that hatch for me or I'll blast it open. Don't think I won't."

Arli stared at the two soldiers challengingly and Murrue sighed and ordered them to open the hatch. She was connected to the catapult and Arli felt the familiar rush of adrenaline for piloting a mobile suit.

"Combat, you're free to go," somebody said and Arli nodded.

"Arli Elthsman, Combat launching!" she announced and stepped on the thrusters as they shot her out. She hit the Phase Shift and the mobile suit changed colours to gold and black. The arms and legs were gold whereas the chest and cockpit were coloured black with silver highlights. The V-fin on the mobile suit's head was black as was the block with the model of the mobile suit written on it. The model was written in silver to stand out from the black.

"Let's see what we have here," Arli murmured and ran through the weapons. It was part of the X200 series which meant that there was something special about it. Ah… It was made with the purpose of being able to take out ships. "Wow… pretty powerful."

It came with some interchangeable equipment, a different kind of armour to take the impact of the ship cannons without being damaged. She guessed that they'd been testing it when the mobile suit had been damaged.

"Okay at the moment I have beam sabres, a beam rifle, shoulder assault cannons for close combat, I've also got cannons on the detachable back-piece…" Arli frowned and continued looking through. "Back on the ship we should have a Hyper-Impulse cannon, a long range beam rifle, a sword of similar design to the GINN sword but with a double edged beam and… oh a positron cannon for taking out bases."

Arli pulled out her two beam sabres and flew out to join the Strike where it was taking on a few GINNS. She cleared her mind of all thoughts that they were her team mates. She noticed one of the G-Weapons- her computer told her it was the X303 Aegis- and wondered who was piloting it.

"What are you doing Arli?" Kira shouted as the Strike ducked under a GINN. Arli ignored him and disabled one of the GINNs near her. They may have been members of the Le Creuset Team but Arli was an Elite pilot for a reason.

"I'm looking after you!" Arli shouted. "These guys have all had military training and experience! You've never touched a gun before!"

Kira smiled slightly on Arli's screen and she winked at him and swung around the block a swing from one of the pilots. She wondered which one of these pilots was Miguel just as the Aegis came at her. She knew that whoever was inside was probably in shock. After all there were only supposed to be five mobile suits.

She dropped down and the Aegis swung around and Arli raised her beam sabre. The pilot darted around her, throwing strikes with the sabre that Arli blocked with ease. She recognised the fighting style.

"Athrun…" Arli whispered.

The Aegis stopped and hovered for a moment. It was clear that Athrun recognised Arli's fighting style too. For a moment she wondered why he was hesitating and then she realised that he would have thought that she was dead.

Arli was about to switch communicator channels when an explosion greeted her and she saw one of the GINNs explode. She winced, wondering which one of her team mates lost their life. The Aegis flew over and Arli tried to follow but another GINN came at her and engaged her.

Arli pulled out her beam rifle and fired at the GINN, trying to only disable it, not really wanting to kill the pilot. She saw the Strike and Aegis fighting and frowning.

"Kira Yamato?" Arli heard Athrun call.

"Athrun? Athrun Zala?" Kira replied.

"Kira! What are you doing in that thing?" Athrun asked.

Arli ducked under a strike from the GINN sword and cut off the legs of her opponent's mobile suit. Another one flew at her and she fired at it but it dodged and her shots hit one of the colony supports and Arli winced.

"Crap," she muttered and fired again, this time taking out one of the mobile suit's legs. She quickly took out the other one and turned around. Kira's mobile suit took out another of the colony's supports and Arli's eyes widened as a huge split appeared in the colony wall and a part fell away.

"Kira!" she shouted. "Look out! The colony-"

Arli was cut off as her mobile suit tumbled backwards when the colony completely collapsed, part of it hitting others and breaking apart. Arli shook her head and looked around, her eyes wide.

"Oh…" She swallowed, hard. "Heliopolis…"

Around her was simply rubble. Nothing remained of the colony that she had wanted to protect.


	5. Phase Four

**Phase Four - Decision  
**

**I love this chappie cos its nice and long ^.^ I enjoyed writing it because of all of the different parts in it so I got to play around with different characters. I was happy that I got to write as Commander Le Creuset. In case people haven't noticed, I love the Le Creuset Team and I think Rau is totally awesome because he's on his own side and he just wants to watch humanity destroy itself before he dies, after all what more can you want from life?**

**I hope you guys like this chapter. I do ^.^ Enjoy ^.^  
**

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-----

_Remains of Heliopolis_

-----

The remaining scraps of what used to be the colony were scattered everywhere around the area where Heliopolis used to orbit. Arli looked around sadly, wishing she'd been more careful. Kira hadn't been too careful but he was just a rookie so he couldn't be blamed.

"Oh this is bad," Arli sighed. They wouldn't trust her after this.

"Hey… Arli, what's that?" Kira asked softly. Arli looked up and spotted what Kira was looking at. "It looks like a life pod…"

"Yes," Arli agreed. "It looks damaged."

"I'll get it." The Strike flew towards the pod and Arli turned and looked at the distant lights of the Vesalius as it flew a fair distance away. Her heart ached painfully. Athrun was definitely on there, but who had she lost? She prayed with all her heart that Yzak was still alive.

"Hey Elthsman! Come back to the ship!" Lieutenant La Flaga called. Arli sighed and flew back towards the Archangel. "Where's Kira?"

"Over there," Arli muttered. "He's found a life pod."

"What?" Ensign Badgeruile shouted. "What's he doing with it?"

"It's damaged," Arli explained, shrugging. "He's bringing it on the ship."

"No, he-" Arli turned off her intercom and flew inside the hanger. When her mobile suit was in place she pulled her helmet off and sighed. She reached inside her suit and pulled out her photo of her team.

"Who's gone?" she whispered, brushing a finger over the faces of her friends. Her brothers. Sighing, Arli put it away and grabbed her helmet before opening her cockpit and perching on the opening.

The Strike came in, the life pod being attended to by the mechanics. Kira climbed out and Arli spotted him and waved. Kira went to wave back when a tiny, mechanical bird jumped from his shoulder.

"Birdie!" it shouted.

"Hey!" Kira called and dived after it. Arli giggled and wished she had Lily with her. Movement below caught Arli's eyes as a red-haired girl pushed up from the mechanic who'd helped her up.

"You!" the girl shouted. "You're Sai's friend!"

Kira turned and caught her. Arli frowned and kicked away from the Combat to watch with interest.

"Fllay?" Kira questioned. "Are you alright?"

"Where are we?" Fllay asked. "This is a ZAFT ship isn't it?"

Arli giggled as Kira smiled.

"No it's not."

"Yes it is, there are mobile suits." The girl turned and looked around. She gasped as she spotted Arli floating by the Combat. "And she's a ZAFT pilot."

"No, this is the new Earth Forces' warship and mobile suits," Kira explained. "And she just helped us."

Fllay frowned, glaring at Arli darkly. Arli shrugged. It was to be expected. She was about to leave when one of the mechanics floated up to her with his arms folded. It was the same man who'd been sceptical about Kira piloting the Strike.

"You," he growled.

"Yes?" Arli questioned in her most innocent voice and sweet smile.

"That machine was already damaged enough and we really didn't need to fix it," the mechanic growled.

"Your point?" Arli questioned sweetly.

"Now it's even more damaged and if you're going to be piloting it again then we have to fix it!" He glared at her.

"I'll keep maintenance if you like," Arli offered. "But I don't think I'll be piloting it again. I'm a ZAFT pilot after all. I'm supposed to be in the brig."

Somebody cleared their throat and Arli looked around at Lieutenant La Flaga. Arli frowned slightly.

"Thanks Mr Murdoch," the Lieutenant said and the mechanic left. Mwu folded his arms and gave Arli a stern look. "Speaking of the brig, how did you get out?"

"That's for me to know," Arli replied, letting her helmet float away and folding her arms. "What do you want?"

"The Captain wants to see you," he explained. "Come on." He turned and left. Arli sighed and followed him, smiling at Kira as she passed and giving the Fllay girl a curious look.

-----

_Vesalius, Officer's Quarters_

-----

Commander Le Creuset gave Athrun a curious look as he entered and saluted. The young pilot looked rather sheepish but not exactly regretful of his actions. It was one of the reasons why Athrun was a good soldier because he often made good decisions and stood by them no matter what. He would be a brilliant commander one day.

"Athrun," Commander Le Creuset stated.

"I wanted to apologise for my conduct," Athrun explained. "But I thought that I knew the pilot of the Strike and I had to make sure that it was him."

Commander Le Creuset tilted his head. "Oh?"

"Yes it's a friend of mine," Athrun explained. "Kira Yamato. We attended the same Lunar Prep School. Kira's a coordinator."

"I see… I would imagine this friend is close to you?"

"We were the best of friends." Athrun dropped his gaze slightly.

"Then I shall pull you off this mission," the Commander decided. Athrun looked up, surprised. Commander Le Creuset stood up. "You could never point a gun at such a friend and I don't wish to put you in that position."

"Please, sir," Athrun protested. "I believe I can convince Kira to come to ZAFT. Brilliant as he is, he's also naive and kind-hearted. He fails to see that he's being manipulated by the naturals. I think that if I could just talk to him…"

"Are you sure?" Commander Le Creuset asked, a slight feeling of victory in his mind. If Athrun could convince his friend to come then they would have five of the mobile suits. Then there was that other mobile suit…

"Yes," Athrun replied.

"Very well." The Commander sat back down but Athrun hesitated. "Yes?"

"There's something else," Athrun explained. "That sixth mobile suit. I recognised the style of the pilot…" Athrun's gaze darkened and Commander Le Creuset frowned. What could cause a reaction like that in the young soldier?

"And?" Rau asked.

"I believe it was Arli, sir." Athrun looked up at Commander Le Creuset who was frowning, truly surprised by Athrun's revelation. What would Arli be doing with the Legged Ship?

"Are you sure?" the Commander asked. "I mean, Arli-"

"I'm almost positive," Athrun explained. "If I can talk to the pilot then I'll be able to confirm it or disregard it. Part of me hopes it is her…"

"It would mean that she isn't dead…" The Commander sighed. "Right well you can follow up on both of these pilots. We won't tell anybody about your theory for the pilot of the Combat. If it is correct then the council would be in an uproar. The Dragon of Space as a traitor is not something I wish to report to Chairman Clyne."

"Nor I," Athrun replied.

"Thankyou Athrun."

Athrun saluted and left. Commander Le Creuset frowned and leant back. If Arli really had left them then it might throw a wrench in the Commander's plans. He sighed. He honestly hoped this was not the case. The Dragon of Space could be a very deadly enemy.

Then he smiled.

_No matter, _if_ the Legged Ship goes to Artemis then they may kill her,_ Rau thought. _The Eurasians really do hate coordinators._

-----

_Archangel__, bunk room_

-----

"So she was protecting us against her own team?" Tolle asked Kira in amazement. Kira nodded slowly and Tolle's eyes lit up. "Imagine that! A ZAFT pilot fighting for the Earth Forces!"

"I don't think-" Kira tried to interrupt but Kuzzey cut him off.

"But what if she turns on us? Aren't the ones who wear red supposed to be really good pilots?" he questioned, his expression showing his worry. Kira sighed and looked at him. All of his friends looked dishevelled.

Sai was holding Fllay to him on the bunk across from where Kira was standing. Kuzzey was sitting with Tolle and Mariallia beside where Kira was. They all looked scared and like they'd rather be anywhere else. Kira felt the same.

_Athrun…_

"But she did help us," Mariallia murmured.

"I don't think she'd turn on us," Kira explained. "Not while there are civilians on the ship. She told me that I had to protect you guys."

"So? That doesn't mean anything!" Kuzzey replied. "She's with ZAFT! She's a _coordinator_! She's the enemy."

Kira winced, feeling like he'd been punched in the stomach. He sighed and turned and left the bunk room. This was why he'd never told the others that he was a coordinator because they all believed that coordinators were their enemies. Now they didn't know how to act around Kira.

But there was that girl. That coordinator from ZAFT. Arli. She seemed like she understood people. Understood him and what he was feeling. It was like she knew him but she'd only just met him. He wondered how that was possible but for all he knew it could be. And she knew Athrun. She had just risked her life to help the ship and she seemed honest and genuine.

She was with the captain but Kira really wanted to talk to her so he kicked the wall and started floating towards the Captain's Quarters to wait for her.

-----

_Captain's Quarters_

-----

Arli looked around the captain's cabin with interest as she entered. Murrue sat down on a chair and Arli pondered the differences between the Archangel and the Vesalius. She thought she may have preferred the way the Vesalius was set up but that was just her.

"You may sit," Murrue informed Arli just as the door opened and Mwu and Natarle came inside.

"No, it's alright," Arli replied. She put her hands behind her back and faced the three officers.

"You put us in a dangerous position," Murrue told Arli, her expression neutral. "We didn't know whether you would turn on us or not. But you really didn't give us much choice. I would like to know why you did it."

Arli frowned and studied Captain Ramias's eyes. They were as kind as when Arli had explored them when she'd first met the captain. But she was starting to trust Arli after what had happened with Heliopolis.

"Well…" Arli shifted slightly, frowning. She was even entirely sure of why herself. Her life was filled with confusion and often Arli didn't think, she just acted on what felt like the right thing to do. "I suppose it was because I wanted to. You have civilians on this ship, and not just any civilians, teenagers and now children and families. I can't just let these people be endangered especially when I know it's partially my fault since it was my team that attacked Heliopolis."

"But that's why we're confused. They are your team mates and you are with ZAFT."

"I've been in the military for as long as I can remember, it's not like ever had the chance to make many decisions about myself that impact me personally," Arli shrugged. "Everything I've ever done has been for the good of the PLANTs and civilians. I always do things to protect them and this once it was the civilians of a neutral nation. They didn't deserve to have this happen and I feel responsible for it. I have to protect them."

Mwu and Murrue looked at each other while Natarle eyed Arli suspiciously.

"How do we know you aren't going to turn on us?" Natarle questioned and Arli sighed sadly and looked down.

"With that one simple act of fighting the others at Heliopolis it makes me a traitor. I've committed treason and if I went back they'd put me on trial and I'd probably be executed. It's completely black and white. The only chance I have now is to stay with this ship and protect it."

_Well that's not entirely true… this issue has a lot of shades of grey. Like the Dragon of Space, for instance…_ Arli thought to herself while Murrue frowned thoughtfully.

"Would you be willing to serve as a member of the Earth Forces?" Mwu asked.

Arli frowned and looked at him. "I suppose I would be…"

Murrue smiled. "Then welcome aboard, Miss Elthsman," Murrue decided. She stood up and held her hand out.

Arli shook it and returned the smile. "Please, just call me Arli, Captain."

"Lieutenant La Flaga, do you think you could take both Arli and Kira aside?" Murrue questioned. "I think you should talk to them."

Arli frowned but Murrue offered no explanation as to why she was requesting this. The Lieutenant seemed to understand though because he smiled.

"Of course, Captain," he agreed. "I'll see you later. Come on, girly."

"Don't call me that," Arli muttered as she followed him out of the office. She was surprised to see that Kira was across the corridor, waiting. He looked up and smiled at her. Arli smiled back slightly as Mwu clapped a hand on Kira's shoulder.

"Come with me," he decided. "Locker room."

Arli floated beside Kira as Mwu led them down the corridor.

"Hi," Arli said.

"Hi," Kira replied and he frowned. "What's going on?"

"I'm officially an Earth Forces soldier," Arli explained. "Hopefully I can have a uniform. I don't feel like walking around in a pilot suit for days on end."

Kira chuckled. "That wouldn't be comfortable," he agreed. "But why am I coming?"

"The Captain wants you to keep piloting the Strike," Mwu explained. Kira went to protest but Mwu kept talking. "You seemed upset when we asked you to do it before but think about it this way, kid, your friends are on board and now a bunch of civilians that you rescued. We're going to need your help to protect them all."

"But you're a pilot aren't you?" Kira demanded. "And so is Arli."

"I only pilot a mobile armour which has nothing on these G-Weapons. Arli and I can't handle all four of the other mobile suits, as well as the Le Creuset Team's GINNs on our own. With two G-Weapons piloted by, from what I saw in the last battle, two pretty good pilots then we might give them a run for their money." Mwu turned around and gave Kira a stern look. "You have the ability, why not put it to use? As I said to you before."

Kira didn't reply, he just looked down. "Fine…"

Arli gave him a sympathetic look as Mwu turned to look at her.

"About that uniform you mentioned," Mwu stated and Arli looked at him happily. Mwu continued along and brought Arli and Kira into the locker room. "Here." He pulled out two uniforms from a locker filled with them.

He tossed a blue jacket at Kira as well as a pair of pants and then tossed a pink jacket to Arli. He was looking for a skirt but Arli just moved up to the locker and pulled a pair of pants out. Mwu looked at her.

"I wear the male Red Jacket uniform, I'm not wearing a female Earth Forces uniform," Arli explained.

"Speaking of Elite uniforms…" Mwu muttered. He pointed across the room. "You'll find some pilot suits in there. I don't think the crew would trust you very much if you kept wearing your ZAFT uniform."

Arli blushed. "Oh yeah…"

Kira sighed and looked at the uniform. Arli gave him a sad smile and he returned it gently. Mwu then took them out of the corridor and showed them a room each. Arli went into hers and shut the door, locking it so that she could have some privacy.

"Alone time," she sighed. She needed to think. But first…

Arli unzipped her pilot suit and pulled it off, tossing it onto her bed. She pulled the white t-shirt on over her singlet and then put on the Earth Forces uniform. It felt weird and looked a lot different. She much preferred her ZAFT uniform. She then sat on her bed and removed the photo of her team mates from her pilot suit.

She stared at it sadly for some time. They all looked so happily. Even Yzak was smiling as Arli hugged him from behind. Rusty had his arm hooked around Dearka's neck beside Yzak and Athrun and Nicol were beside Arli, Athrun ruffling Nicol's hair as they looked at the camera. Despite the fact that Yzak and Athrun argued non-stop, Dearka and Yzak picked on Nicol and Rusty had to intervene in arguments between Arli and her brother all of the time, they had all cared about each other deeply and would have done anything to protect each other.

Now Arli had betrayed them and one of the others was dead. She knew for sure that it wasn't Athrun. Who was it? Yzak? Dearka? Nicol? Rusty? Arli didn't think she could stand to find out. Especially if it was Yzak. She hadn't even apologised for their fight. It sucked.

There was a knock on the door.

"Hey, Elthsman!" Mwu shouted as he banged his fist on the door. "We need some advice from you!"

-----

_Archangel__, Bridge_

-----

Arli stood with Mwu and Murrue as they looked at a map up on the screen. It showed the area where they were and several routes that they could take from here depending on where they wanted to go and what they wanted to do. And also what the enemy might do.

That's why Arli was there too.

"What exactly was your team planning on doing prior to when you actually started your mission?" Mwu questioned.

"We were supposed to steal the mobile suits, gather the Intel on the ship and then go back to the PLANTs to report and give the machines and Intel to our military HQ for processing," Arli explained. "Considering what happened though that isn't what they'll be doing."

"What would you imagine they are doing then?" Murrue asked.

"Since the colony collapsed, one of the G-Weapons wasn't captured, there was an extra G-Weapon and the ship escaped unscathed I would imagine that Commander Le Creuset would want to pursue the ship to capture the two extra mobile suits but he would still have to go back to PLANT and report."

"How's he going to do both?"

"He'll leave one ship here, not the Vesalius though, and take just one of the others back with him to report to the Council while the others stick around and try to take out the ship and capture the mobile suits," Arli explained. "Originally he would have taken me with him to Aprilius but that's not possible now."

"Not that it really matters, we'll still be up against three of the mobile suits, but who would he take with him?" Mwu asked curiously.

"Athrun probably," Arli shrugged. "Considering that we all have a parent on the council it wouldn't matter but Athrun is the best choice since he's actually piloted one of the mobile suits and he's the best pilot on the team."

"So the best pilot would be gone? That's good to know. When would the Commander leave?"

"Not yet." Arli looked at Mwu with a frown. "I imagine he'd want to have another look at how well the ship and its pilots fight. We'll be seeing him again before he leaves."

Mwu rubbed his head while Murrue looked at the maps.

"We could always go to Artimus," she suggested. "They'd be expecting us to the go to Lunar HQ, therefore Artimus would throw them off."

"My commander is smarter than that," Arli informed Murrue. "I know it would take longer but wouldn't it make more sense to go to the moon?"

"We'd have to pass through the debris belt or go too close to the PLANTs and Boaz," Mwu frowned, watching as the possible flight paths traced their way across the map. "And we aren't supplied nearly enough to go around the Earth. Hell, we're barely supplied enough to go to the moon with the number of people we have on board."

Arli frowned, realising the issue. But the Eurasians weren't trustworthy. How could they think to go there with a ship that hadn't even been officially launched yet and therefore had no identification code?

"What if we created a diversion?" Natarle suggested from bottom level of the bridge. "Fire a missile to throw them off."

"It might work," Mwu shrugged. "Right, Arli?"

"Possibly," Arli muttered, still thinking about the Eurasians. "They really would expect you to go to the moon but the Commander isn't one to rule out other options, like Artimus for example. Look, either way they'll come after us."

Murrue sighed. "I have to make this decision based on what is best for the ship and the people on board," she sighed. "We'll go to Artimus and resupply and then head to Lunar HQ. It's the best course of action. But I agree with you Ensign Badgeruile, we should create a diversion."

Arli nodded and frowned at the course of action. She'd been to Artimus once and successfully made her way inside to kill one of the Eurasian politicians who'd been staying there. She was probably the only person ever to infiltrate Artimus but then she hadn't been in a ship or a mobile suit when she'd gotten inside.

Needless to say the Eurasians were terrified of the Dragon of Space and she knew that a lot of them were corrupted by Blue Cosmos. A Eurasian base, especially Artimus, was probably the worst place for Arli to go.

-----

_The Vesalius, Bridge_

-----

"I believe that the Legged Ship will head for Artimus," Commander Le Creuset announced.

"Artimus, sir?" Captain Ades questioned, looking at the Commander curiously. "Wouldn't it make more sense for them to head for the moon?"

Le Creuset shook his head. "It's too risky in their current position. I believe we should set a course for Artimus. We have to capture those two mobile suits."

Captain Ades frowned. It was clear he disagreed but he wasn't going to argue with the Commander, he was, after all, usually right about these kinds of things. Just as Captain Ades was about to speak their radars started beeping and a map came up on screen.

"Captain, we've detected a large heat source," one of the crew explained. "It appears to be heading for the Earth Forces' Lunar Base."

Captain Ades looked at his Commander. Le Creuset was frowning thoughtfully.

"I believe it is a diversion, Ades," Commander Le Creuset decided. "We'll set a course for Artimus and follow at a safe distance until we see the Legged Ship."

The Commander turned and left the bridge. Captain Ades sighed and gave the orders. The Commander was probably right but sometimes Captain Ades wondered if he was completely mad or if he had inside information somehow.

-----

_The Archangel, Bridge_

-----

"Captain!" one of the crew members shouted. Murrue looked over at him. "We're picking up heat sources. It appears to be two ZAFT vessels. One Nazca-class and one Laurasia-class."

"Are they close enough to attack?" Murrue asked.

"Not yet."

"Right, change our status to Level Two Battle Stations, just in case," Murrue ordered and the announcement went over. But just as she was about to give more orders somebody frowned.

"Oh," they said and Murrue looked over.

"Yes?" Murrue asked.

"Captain those civilians from Heliopolis are outside of the bridge," he commented. "They wanted to speak with you."

"We don't have time for that!" Natarle snapped. "Whatever it is they want it will just have to wait."

"Actually, they said they want to help…"

Murrue frowned in surprise.

--

Arli was sitting in the cafeteria when Kira came to talk to her. He seemed kind of quiet and sad so Arli obliged when he asked if he could talk. He sat down opposite her and Arli got a good look at his eyes. They were kind and pure. She hated that he was being forced into this war when it was so clear that his soul was untainted by that kind of thing. There was also something odd about his eyes. His eyes weren't like anybody else's that she'd ever read before.

Also something in them reminded her of someone very near to her heart and she was hit with a pang of homesickness. She really missed her friends at PLANT. Especially Lacus.

"What did you want to talk about?" Arli asked kindly.

"Nothing in particular," Kira replied. "I just needed someone who… understood."

"Understood?" Arli questioned. "Do you mean someone who understands fighting your own kind? Who understands fighting someone you love dearly and would rather not fight against?"

"Yes…" Kira looked at Arli sadly. "It's been over a year since I last saw Athrun. I thought that I wouldn't see him until the war was over… When I heard about Junius-Seven I was a little worried but then I remembered that he lived in Aprilius-City because his father's on the council."

"Yes that's right though…" Arli hesitated when the alarms started blaring.

"_All hands to Level Two Battle Stations, pilots board your machines and stand by!_" a voice announced. "_All hands to Level Two Battle Stations!_"

Kira and Arli both stood up and rushed out of the cafeteria. They started down towards the locker rooms and stopped when Kira's friends from Heliopolis met them with one of the crew members from the Archangel. They were all wearing Junior Military uniforms like Kira and Arli's.

"What are you guys doing?" Kira asked.

"We knew that the ship was understaffed so we volunteered to help out," the brown-haired girl explained.

"Mariallia…" Kira murmured. "Sai, Tolle, Kuzzey, you guys are crazy."

"We felt like dead weight," one of the guys, Tolle Arli thought, explained. "After all you're out there fighting so we thought we should help."

"But they wouldn't let us on the bridge without these," Kuzzey added.

"They're pretty lame," Tolle shrugged. "We don't get a rank badge or anything. They're nothing compared to the ZAFT uniforms."

"You can say that again," Arli agreed with a giggle.

"Okay, enough chit-chat, let's get going," the Earth Forces soldier ordered and hurried the teenagers off. Arli looked at Kira who was frowning worriedly.

"They're fighting," he murmured.

"Relax," Arli replied. "We'll just have to fight twice as hard to make sure they're okay. We'll protect them."

"Sure." Kira smiled. "After that I'll introduce you to them properly. It must be weird for you to be protecting people that you don't even know."

"Thanks," Arli replied with a smile. She and Kira went into the locker rooms and changed into their pilot suits. Arli disliked wearing the white and pink but it did give her more standing amongst the crew than if she wore her ZAFT uniform.

When she reached Combat she eyed the repairs and smiled and then climbed inside the cockpit. She strapped herself in and made sure she was ready to launch at a moment's notice.

"Hey Arli!" a voice said and Arli look up at her screen. It was the girl Mariallia.

"Hi," Arli replied. "You're on CIC?"

"Yup," Mariallia replied.

"_All hands, we are upgrading to Level One Battle Stations!_" a voice announced. "_Pilots, prepare to launch!_"

Arli fiddled with her settings and watched as the Strike moved into the catapult. Arli was next and she was equipped her with long-range beam rifle instead of the blaster. She frowned up at the screen.

"Arli, you're up against the Aegis, Duel, Buster and Blitz," Mariallia told her.

"Thanks," Arli replied. Four of her team mates. It was time to find out who'd died. She'd recognise their fighting styles. But then she'd have to call them enemies.

"You're good to go, Combat," Mariallia announced.

"Arli Elthsman, Combat, launching!"


End file.
